- Holy Synod accepts Abune Antonios' Apology.
- Abune Antonios made a public appearance with the rest of the members of the holy sinod and participated in the holy Liturgy at the saint Mary church. on 09 Aug 2016 - Abune Antonios has asked for love, peace and forgiveness in a letter to Eritrea's Holy Synod.
The former Patriarch Abune Antonios, born July 12, 1927, was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He was deposed after the Holy synod concluded that the Patriarch compromised the safe guarding of the Faith based on the canonical law.
On 13 January 2006, a secret session of the Holy Synod was held in Asmara to remove the Patriarch from office before he was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros, on 27 May 2007.
Source: Madote.com
Comments
Dear minasoliman,
As a children of the Christian Orthodox faith, involving the Church in politics is not wise as you seem to suggest. I suggest you learn the facts to understand the truth surrounding this matter. Let me say this, I have read more than few postings here and there with a complete distorted facts regarding the former Patriarch. The distortion was framed by no one else than the source of the ex-patriarch’s downfall, the heretic and revival protestant elements with in the EOTC during the early 90th. The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church Synod, the highest authority, must defend the faith from renewals and heresy or heretics and just did that with ex patriarch Antonios. Just incase you miss it, here is another public event took place the other da.
http://lisantewahdo.org/index.php/16-2015-07-31-06-18-02/907-2017-07-28-12-41-37
Hello Haymanoteabew. I love your name. "Faith of the Fathers". Very nice.
I have a few questions:
1. Was His Holiness in fact restored to his Throne as Patriarch?
2. Did he concelebrate the Liturgy with the other members of the Holy Synod when he recently appeared at St. Mary's in Asmara?
3. Why is it that he was not able to speak when he appeared at St. Mary's? Why have we not heard any public statements from him?
4. I agree wholeheartedly that "reform movements" - those trying to introduce Protestant teaching or practice into the Orthodox Church - are doing the work of Satan whether they realize it or not. Was His Holiness formally charged with heresy or with aiding this movement by the Synod? Why was no clear statement released for the benefit of the sister churches and the international community in English or other international languages? I am sure you realize that linking to a page in Tigrinya that most of us here cannot read doesn't help us to understand your point any better.
Thank You in Advance,
A.N.
Greetings AntoniousNIkolas,
thank you for your interest and engaging on my post and happy you liked my name.
I have to admit this situation is a tragedy no one wants to talk about and unfortunately conveniently manipulated to fabrication by political motivated political religious enteritis.
You have poised great questions i would happy to share my insight and not as an expert of the matter according to the order listed.
1. Was His Holiness in fact restored to his Throne as Patriarch?
A/ So far there is no indication pointing to suggest the exact term " Patriarch " is used or his exact rule stated during the recent public announcements by the office of the Synods.
One thing is sure, his name has been mentioned inside and abroad during liturgy service as "liqe papas" which is reserved specifically for the patriarch. Here, there are a number of "liqane papasat" as a members of the Synodos however the patriarch himself a "liqe papas "when elected as a leader he takes the title patriarch.
The question is why there is no statement by the office of the Sinodos clearly stating the title " patriarch " or something to that effect to tell us he has been reinstated to his position as Patriarch. I will try to share MY HUMBLE OPINION based on the history of his removal when i get to your Q#4 bellow
2. Did he concelebrate the Liturgy with the other members of the Holy Synod when he recently appeared at St. Mary's in Asmara?
A/ Yes, on 16 Jul 2017
3.Why is it that he was not able to speak when he appeared at St. Mary's? Why have we not heard any public statements from him?
A/ It's a matter of both cultural and spiritual perspective of this ancient Christian community. Public statements and speeches are not the "best" characteristic of this part of the globe. silence, patience and passivity is the norm especially on matters of sensitive issues for good reason. As far as the public inside the country, they get their information from the local church “sebeka gubae” ሰበካ ጉባኤ
“”badly translate as “the board”. By the way, this is a non issue for the public at large inside as well as outside the country with the exception of very few disgruntled, excommunicated self calling priests outside the country who are also belongs to the failed renewal movement and political agenda. There is a lot to be said on this.
4.……………Was His Holiness formally charged with heresy or with aiding this movement by the Synod? Why was no clear statement released for the benefit of the sister churches and the international community in English or other international languages? I am sure you realize that linking to a page in Tigrinya that most of us here cannot read doesn't help us to understand your point any better.
A/ Yes he was charged and the detail has been out since. Not sure if there is one in English. I agree with you it should have been better communicated with international view in mind but again we are talking about ancient society with complete different perspective including religious experience and culture than the modern world whatever that represents. Having said this, the Holy Sinodos sent delegated to Alexandria numerous times to explain the issue despite it’s failure for reasons it has to do with the way the Coptic church manage its double standard affairs vs the rest of Oriental Orthodox churches. I have no INFO if the sister churches has been communicated.
Honestly, if one has to explain the situation of abune Anthonios as tragedy, the Coptic Orthodox church has the biggest part in fanning it -feeding the wolfs. Again much to be said on this.
The Sidnodos established a case
1/ Hoodwinking and opposing the decision of the Sinod to disperse a group of renewal members organized under “Orthodox Sunday School “ after studies and follow-up on those groups found teaching and practice contra to the Orthodox faith.
2/ The Ex-patriarch abune Antonios also created a channel of communication line with outside individuals to assist on divinity matters which is illegal and outside the ring of the Sinodos and “gubea liqaunt, (ጉባኤ ሊቃውንትmay be the translation of the greek word periclytos that is the body of the church examines divinity and dogmatic matters.) And 4 more charges against him.
According to these charges and especially the first two, the Patriarch got mislead by the renewal movement within the church under the umbrella of “Sunday School” Whose members including Pentecostal and protestant charismatic movements working to dismantled the one true Orthodox faith.
This sites stated some truth to the nature of the culprit while throw cheap shoots aiming at the government
http://www.churchinchains.ie/prisoner-profiles/patriarch-antonios/
"....Bible study renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Church.."
-Christian Solidarity Worldwide
".... He had refused requests for the closure the Medhanie Alem Church, which was linked with the Orthodox renewal movement..."
-Christianheadlines.com
"....The Eritrean government jailed three more leaders of the Orthodox Church’s Medhane Alem renewal movement last month"
-morningstarnews.org
-www.churchinchains.ie
The list goes on. Any wonder who these bogus sites represent ? and what the motive and the string attached with abune Antonios ?
well...go figure... Humbly saying.
Back to part of your Q. #1
the charges are serious and a reason for deposing the Patriach for failing to safeguard and protect the faith and so decided by the Holy Sinodos. The relevant canon laws and bylaws are available.
Once the Patriarch stepped down from administrative duties and restricted to benediction and Church celebration Sinodos did not want to strip his title as a monk and to some extent the bishopry status, and to that end the Sinodos gave abune Antonios a canonical confession (for a luck of better word) he did not do well which made it possible for the extended time of solitary confinement. Now that abune Antonios is back as a member of the Sinodos I do not think he will regain his pre position as patriarch but will assume the non administrative duties as was the case right after he stepped down for the office of patriarch, again in my opinion.
I hope i presented my view on ur Questions to the best of my knowledge of the situation.
Humbely,
Haymanot Abew
Hello Haymanote Abew,
Thank you for your in depth answer. I agree with some of the points you have raised, but I find others most unconvincing. I would like to continue this discussion with you, but the awkard nature of this forum - which does not enable a user to easily quote another users's posts, etc. - would make an extended reply to your lengthy post impossible here.
I am going to send you a private message with my email, and if you are willing, we can continue our discourse there. I am also open to carrying on the discussion elsewhere, if you are not comfortable emailing me, but the mechanics of this forum are too awkward and unwieldy for me to communicate with you - or anyone - at length here.
In Christ,
A.N.
Hi mabsoota. I miss you. So nice to hear from you again. Thanks for your kind words.
Hi Rem. It is always nice to hear from you too. Haymanotabew and I are presently trying to figure out an alternative venue of public communication.
I apologize to everyone for being difficult, but the mods made their decision about the format they wanted to use for this forum, and I am not comfortable with carrying on in depth discussions here due to its limitations relative to my posting style.
I'll let you know how things progress, because this is a discussion that needs to be had. Thank you.
anyone got a translation?
sorry i only know 2 words of tigrinya!
This is the issue with the pro-government faction. They link to all kinds of videos and even written articles in Tigrinya as if this is helpful to the wider world, and then complain when the side they characterize as "Tehadiso" has better relations with the sister churches and the international community. Further, they criticize the rest of us for being "misled" or "ignorant" about "the real story". Get your act together and begin publishing in English. There are only about 7 million people worldwide who speak Tigrinya, and if you expect us to learn it in order to hear "your side" you are always going to lose the debate in the public sphere.
Haymanotabew, I emailed you and look forward to our discussion.
One thing is sure, his name has been mentioned inside and abroad during liturgy service as "liqe papas" which is reserved specifically for the patriarch. Here, there are a number of "liqane papasat" as a members of the Synodos however the patriarch himself a "liqe papas "when elected as a leader he takes the title patriarch.
The question is why there is no statement by the office of the Sinodos clearly stating the title " patriarch " or something to that effect to tell us he has been reinstated to his position as Patriarch.
“”badly translate as “the board”. By the way, this is a non issue for the public at large inside as well as outside the country with the exception of very few disgruntled, excommunicated self calling priests outside the country who are also belongs to the failed renewal movement and political agenda. There is a lot to be said on this.
Honestly, if one has to explain the situation of abune Anthonios as tragedy, the Coptic Orthodox church has the biggest part in fanning it -feeding the wolfs. Again much to be said on this.
The Sidnodos established a case
1/ Hoodwinking and opposing the decision of the Sinod to disperse a group of renewal members organized under “Orthodox Sunday School “ after studies and follow-up on those groups found teaching and practice contra to the Orthodox faith.
If this is true, then I must agree that I agree that the Synod is in the right on this point. Tehadiso "renewal" movements - which seek to reform the Church along Protestant lines are like the snake in the Garden of Eden. They should not be permitted to teach Protestantism to our youth - leading them in Protestant songs and teaching them from Protestant books - while wearing black galabeyas. That said, what I have heard is that His Holiness took the position that the Tehadiso elements should be given the chance to repent and be educated in Orthodoxy, and that he also objected to their being physically jailed. I agree that the Tehadiso are definitely in the wrong and that they can act shady - I have seen videos of Tehadiso in Ethiopia saying on tape "We have converted as many Orthodox as we can externally. Now it is time to work within the Church. Some of us must seek ordination". They are snakes to be sure. But as tempting as it might be, I don't think jailing them is the answer. Excommunication and defrocking would suffice.
The Ex-patriarch abune Antonios also created a channel of communication line with outside individuals to assist on divinity matters which is illegal and outside the ring of the Sinodos and “gubea liqaunt, (ጉባኤ ሊቃውንትmay be the translation of the greek word periclytos that is the body of the church examines divinity and dogmatic matters.) And 4 more charges against him.
Are you saying here that he was actively working with Protestant denominations to undermine Orthodoxy? And what are the other charges please.
According to these charges and especially the first two, the Patriarch got mislead by the renewal movement within the church under the umbrella of “Sunday School” Whose members including Pentecostal and protestant charismatic movements working to dismantled the one true Orthodox faith.
This sites stated some truth to the nature of the culprit while throw cheap shoots aiming at the government
http://www.churchinchains.ie/prisoner-profiles/patriarch-antonios/
"....Bible study renewal movement within the Eritrean Orthodox Church.."
-Christian Solidarity Worldwide
".... He had refused requests for the closure the Medhanie Alem Church, which was linked with the Orthodox renewal movement..."
-Christianheadlines.com
"....The Eritrean government jailed three more leaders of the Orthodox Church’s Medhane Alem renewal movement last month"
-morningstarnews.org
-www.churchinchains.ie
The list goes on. Any wonder who these bogus sites represent ? and what the motive and the string attached with abune Antonios ?
well...go figure... Humbly saying.
These are damning charges indeed, and you seem to have provided evidence linking His Holiness to a mismanagement of the Tehadiso affair. That said, they also seem to corroborate the Coptic Synod's understanding that he simply objected to the government's jailing the Protestantizers and interjecting itself into Church affairs instead of letting him handle it through strictly ecclesiastical means. Please help me to see your interpretation of the data. Anyone who knows me knows that I am against heterodoxy and heteropraxis in the Orthodox Church by any means and am not sympathetic to any figure promoting Protestant practices, songs, or teachings, whatever their rank and whether they wear black or not. If you are a Protestantizer - if you lead the youth in CCM, teach them from Rick Warren books - you are wrong. Period.
Back to part of your Q. #1
the charges are serious and a reason for deposing the Patriach for failing to safeguard and protect the faith and so decided by the Holy Sinodos. The relevant canon laws and bylaws are available.
Once the Patriarch stepped down from administrative duties and restricted to benediction and Church celebration Sinodos did not want to strip his title as a monk and to some extent the bishopry status, and to that end the Sinodos gave abune Antonios a canonical confession (for a luck of better word) he did not do well which made it possible for the extended time of solitary confinement.
Forgive me, but this is unclear and I want to be able to understand you better. It seems like you are saying that after removing His Holiness from power, the Holy Synod gave him some kind of theology test, which he failed, so they locked him up (in your words "an extended period of solitary confinement". This doesn't sound like an ecclesiastical decision to me. Also, what do you mean they didn't want to strip him of his monasticism and to a certain extent his status as a bishop. He either is a bishop or he is not. Can you please clarify?
Now that abune Antonios is back as a member of the Sinodos I do not think he will regain his pre position as patriarch but will assume the non administrative duties as was the case right after he stepped down for the office of patriarch, again in my opinion.
So His Holiness is now a member of the Holy Synod, but not a Patriarch. Correct?
I hope i presented my view on ur Questions to the best of my knowledge of the situation.
I sincerely appreciate the effort and hope that we can all gain a better understanding of the true situation and one another's positions through dialogue.
Greetings ,
This is not professional translation and should be read as such. The video is a get together with the office of the Patriarch and synodos
The third Patriarch His Holliness Abune Antonios gave general and specific Greetings
Gave thanks to God for making it possible in meeting every one
He said
"When i went to the place where God prepared for me, in my resident, our Government assigned me a guard and properly for the last 11.5 years
who would be privileged to have a guard? no minister nor official have that. By your prayer and by the care of the Holy Church i was under protection.
When i say this we lived in harmony and like one family with the man and women in my residence (he is reference to the servant assigned to him for the daily needs)
with joy and in peace without any "incident" thing. I am telling you brothers and my children with out any suffering. As a will of God, a comity from monastery and church "liqawent" came to visit me every week and some times monthly as is written "make peace with each other" and through the previous conversations they heard my side and I heard theirs and
during the dialog i signed the document contained my words and they presented me and agreed with its content voluntarily. Based on that we are now in peace and friendship. "
He gave thanked to God and prayed for the country, the people and the Church
He said he is 89 years old and have minor health issue and requested a prayer to stay health for the remaining of his life
Finally he was given the honor to do the concluding (closing) prayers.
AN, Thanks you very much for your well thought out answer! I appreciate your time and care to respond. Please see my responses below to continue this discussion!
Hi RO. I missed you, man! I'm happy to carry on this discussion, though you know how I feel about typing on this forum. It's like walking through hip deep mud.
Respectfully, and with full confidence in your intelligence, I feel like this entire paragraph of a response is sort of a cop-out. It essentially negates the entire purpose of this thread. It essentially sums of this ENORMOUS question with, "Trust me bro, its the pope! He knows what he's doing." But that doesn't speak to the issue much. The reality is that, until this point, I have not seen any reason to refuse the right of the EOTC synod to exile their patriarch. The fact that Pope Shenouda granted them their own patriarch does not give him or his seat the right to over-reach into the affairs of the church, nor does it (by virtue of itself) confer any sort of confidence in this decision.I think we're talking past one another here, brother. We both agree - 100% - that the Coptic Church has no right whatsoever to interfere in the rights of an autocephalous Sister Church. She has no more right to attempt to impose her will on the African Churches than she does on the Armenian, Syriac, or Malankara Churches. But please understand, that is not at all what I was saying here. I was also not saying, "Trust me, bro! It's the Pope!" I don't have that sort of blind confidence in the hierarchy. Since I was unclear, please allow me to clarify my stance:
1. Although the Coptic Church does not have the right to interfere with the rights of a Sister Church, she does indeed have the right to decide if she will accept the decisions made by a Sister Church for herself. So, while the Coptic Church cannot depose the Patriarch of a Sister Church, she can, if she feels that Church has breached the canon law common to us all, refuse to accept that Church's decisions. By the same token, any of the Sister Churches can do the same to us. This has happened before in history.
2. While I would never say "Trust the hierarchy!" blindly, what I am saying is, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III of Thrice-Blessed Memory and the Coptic Synod studied this matter thoroughly when two separate factions of Eritrean clergy came to them and basically asked them to pick a side. What I am saying is that His Holiness Pope Shenouda didn't make their choice by placing the names of the rival patriarchs in Anba Bishoy's turbine and letting Ibrahim Ayad fish around 'til he felt a slip of paper he liked. They studied the matter thoroughly - having an intimate knowledge of the Church, since they themselves had a hand in its establishment - and after careful consideration made the determination that one side one in breach of the canonical procedure for removing a seated Patriarch. We can argue about whether or not they reached the right decision, but I think we need to examine the evidence ourselves in order to make that determination. I agree with you that this is not a black and white issue. It is very nuanced, and to be honest, each Eritrean faction is trying to uphold the integrity of the Church in their own way. May God grant them unity, and the cessation of heterodoxy in their Church and ours.
Ok, so we both acknowledge that the Coptic church does not have the power to interfere, and yet, it has interfered. It has effectively refused to acknowledge the right of a sister church to self govern.
Absolutely.
This is interference.
Not necessarily. Forget the Coptic and Eritrean Churches for a minute here and let's speak in general principles: No Sister Church has the right to meddle in the internal affairs of another, but they do have the right to determine if they will accept the decisions made by a Sister Church. Suppose for a second that the Egyptian government imprisoned Pope Tawadros (God forbid), exiled or jailed most of the bishops, and with a rump Synod made up of malcontents, collaborators, and people who were straight up scared, forced a decision to depose Pope Tawadros on a trumped up charge and elevate a successor they could control. Every other Sister Church would have the right to declare this illegitimate and break off communion with us until we got out house in order. This is precisely what happened in the case of the imprisonment of H.H. Abune Theophilos (who died a saint as far as I am concerned). That is beyond dispute. Iin the eyes of the Oriental Orthodox Communion, this is also the case with what happened to H.H. Abune Antonios, but I am perfectly willing to consider more evidence in this thread and elsewhere.
If (yes, IF) what the EOTC synod is saying about Abune Antonios' protestant tendencies is true, then the synod has the right to remove him, and we are in danger of supporting a false teacher, and breaking canon in the process.
Agreed. But as I said, two separate factions of Eritrean clergy each separately made trips to Alexandria and tried to gain our Synod's support. The Coptic Synod examined the evidence presented by both sides and made their determination as to who was in the right. I don't think we can call this interference when both sides are soliciting our support. They are not asking us to make a final decision between them, as if we are in charge over them (we are not), they are simply asking us to pick a side.
End Part I
I hate typing on this forum. Even getting the paragraph spacing down is a pain. Anywho, onto Part II:
Actually, that's not true. All Orthodox Churches have a responsibility to uphold the canon law. If a particular Church violates the canons by deposing a Patriarch without cause at the prompting of a belligerent government, that Church's sisters have a right to determine what the nature of their interaction with the Church in error will be. This does not constitute interference. Until this moment, the Coptic Church has maintained that the Eritrean Church is in error in this way, and that it is unfortunately governed by Isaias Afewerki's Department of Religious Affairs. I am perfectly willing to consider evidence to the contrary. In fact, I would love to see the evidence the Coptic Church based its original decision on. I don't think we'll be that privileged though.
Part III
True, but if the Eritrean Synod answers to a secular government's Department of Religious Affairs, the Sister Churches have every right to determine how they will greet that Synod's decision. They are not obliged to accept a secular dictator working through a puppet Synod, shrug their shoulders, and say, "Well, I guess that is the situation in their country". No way. The Oriental Orthodox Communion was right, for example, to unilaterally reject the communist puppet Aba Merkorios. Which brings me to your next point.
Forgive me for the confusion on the headquarters. I was under the impression it was in Jersey. Thank you for the correction. As regards the story, are you saying that the Coptic church then does not consider Abune Merkorios as the predecessor of Abune Paulos? If the Coptic church does not count Abune Merkorios as a legitimate placeholder in the lineage of the Ethiopian Patriarchs, then my point with this story is moot. But if the Coptic church recognizes Abune Merkorios as a patriarch in that lineage (even if we recognize him retrospectively), then I MUST ask why not Abune Dioskoros. Would you be able to find that out for me, AN?
A translation of the video haymanot posted of His Holiness Abune Antonios, which I am told is heavily edited:
TRANSCRIPT IN FULL. My brothers, my spiritual children, I give thanks and glory to God for enabling me to see you. All praises be to God that I am able to talk with you after eleven years and six months, at such a time as preordained by God. Dear elders and my brothers, my dear young spiritual children, if mankind accepts whatever God brings his way in thanksgiving and [inaudible], God does bring all to pass. All of you, scholars of the church, know and teach this [what I am about to say]. When I was taken to the place where I had been, our Government kept me in the house under guards. I spent there eleven years and six months. Who is ever kept under guards? Not any minister, not any authority. However, I want to say to you my brothers and children, that by your prayers and the help of the Church, Abba Antonios, having been kept in the house under guards – by "under guards, I mean to say being as one family with my sons and daughters, I spent these years peacefully. [It is not clear if HH is referring to the guards here]. I do not consider this as suffering, because God willed it. According to the will of God, representatives of the Union of Monasteries and scholars of the Eritrean [Orthodox] Church brought to the place where I was the teaching of our Lord and of our fathers to "love one another." They came and spoke to me repeatedly. Our conversation was brought to the scholars of the Church and what was decided, I gave my consent to and affixed my signature. We have [once again] entered into fellowship. I have been asking God, Who hears my pleas, one thing. When I was in the place [where I have been kept] I asked God not to bring to pass what he told Adam: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." He is the God who hears, and he heard me. Therefore, I am here with you alive, my brothers and children. Praises be to God! According to the will of God, we are able to see each other. I say, how are you all? May the helping hands of God always remain with you and your families! May God grant peace and health to our country! May God grant peace and prosperity to our Holy Church! May God also preserve the monastics and the scholars of the church in peace! We also pray that God may make this season a season with sufficient rain and abundant harvest! Again, I thank God for making it possible for me to meet with you all once again. I do have a small physical ailment and pain. Therefore, please remember me in your prayers. I am eighty-nine years old [inaudible]. I thank God.Thanks, Remnkemi, for your kind words, and also for the reminder about Pope Yousab. Well observed. Also, you asked if the Coptic Church demanded that the Eritreans present their case to them or if the two factions came of their own volition. I believe it was the latter scenario.
Haymanot, I wish I could help you in terms of posting PDFs and other documents, but as you can see, I can barely manage basic posts here. What you are asking exceeds my knowledge. Maybe someone else can help. In terms of email, you have to email me directly at the email address I messaged to you. I think you are trying to send an email to the forum. Replying to that won't work. Enter the email address I sent you directly.
Also, with all respect, I am not buying that His Holiness was not, in fact, under house arrest all this time, with his movements restricted, but rather that the government was guarding him during a prolonged spiritual sabbatical. That seems just a bit too much for a rational man to swallow. His Holiness is obviously kind, and it seems he may have won over his captors through his gentleness, but the story seems unbelievable.
At any rate, I pray that God may restore unity to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, and that, along with the Coptic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Communion in general, it may be freed of all Protestant influence, all CCM and Protestant songs in the youth meetings and even in the Liturgy after Psalm 150, all Rick Warren books in the Bible studies. To be honest, this above all is my top priority here. "Reformed" Orthodoxy is not Orthodoxy. It is heresy. May God excise it from our Church and disperse the council of the Protestantizers as He dispersed the counsel of Ahitophel.